Open The Floodgates - Ice Age
by Brooklyn-J
Summary: Akira, a lone sabress, discovers what could be the strangest thing she's ever witnessed. A herd of two mammoths, a sabre, two possums and a sloth. And to make it even weirder, she's asked to join them in the migration to a boat. She agrees, driven by complete curiosity and finds herself growing fond of them quite quickly. This was just the beginning of her many adventures. 6 in 1.
1. Prologue

Akira, a lone sabress, discovers what could be the oddest thing she's ever seen. A herd of two mammoths, a saber, two possums and a sloth. And to make it even weirder, she's asked to join them in the migration to a boat to escape an upcoming flood. She agrees, driven by complete curiosity and finds herself growing fond of them quite quick. What she didn't know, was that this was just the beginning of her many adventures. She'd discover numerous things in the upcoming years; some would prove be devastating but some would be worthwhile, things she never thought she would ever get.

This book is a 6 in 1 and will have all the Ice Age movies up to Collision Course.


	2. Chapter 1

Akira wondered aimlessly, ears perking up at the sounds of laughter. She walked the outskirts and spotted several mammals and birds having the time of their lives. Her eyes darkened slightly with hunger but she shook it off; she'd eaten her fill of a stag miles back, taking another life would be greed. She looked up as she heard struggling, tilting her head as she saw a sloth struggling to move. She slowly approached, seeing vines tied around his feet. She sat back on her haunches behind him, blue eyes observing. "Need help?" He had been grumbling to himself, fighting to remove the vine. His head whipped around, eyes bugging out as his mouth opened to scream. "Please don't scream," She said with a sigh, a little defeated. She reached forward and a whimper escaped the frozen sloth. Rolling her eyes, she used one of her sharp claws to snap the vines.

The sloth, free now, scrambled away from her. "A-are you going to eat me?" Spitefully, she eyed him thoughtfully before shaking her head. "I don't eat sloth. Plus, I'm not hungry." The sloth eyed her suspiciously before shrugging, "I'm Sid." "Akira." She glanced behind her, "Any reason you were in that little predicament." A scowl suddenly overtook Sid's face. "Yes! My herd doesn't think I have the qualifications to run a camp and they don't respect me! But I'll show them!" Akira smiled slightly as the sloth seemed pretty determined. "And how will you do that?" She questioned curiously. Sid crossed his arms, looking scarily determined. "I'm going to go down the Eviscerator!" Akira followed his claw and looked up at the glacier wall. A slide had formed where the ice had melted and formed a slide. It was incredibly high up.

"Uh, Sid that's pretty high up." She commented and the sloth didn't seem deterred in the slightest. "Yup!" She sighed, shaking her head. "Okay, sweetheart, good luck." She stood and began walking away but the sloth called out to her. "Hey, I, uh, will I see you again? I'd wanna introduce you to my herd. One of them is just like you, you know." She cocked her head at the sudden nervousness and chuckled quietly but was suddenly interested and the latter. A sloth like a sabre; now this she'd love to see. "Sure, Sid. I'll be around so just holler." She departed with a wink.

Akira was lounging on a branch in a tree, dozing when she heard loud chatter. She opened her eyes and they widened at the seemingly never-ending line of mammals. "What are they doing?" She muttered to herself. She caught a few sloths among them but none of them were Sid. She decided to wait until the line of mammals and flightless birds thinned before she moved. The last thing she needed was to create a panic among them in seeing a sabre. An hour maybe had passed the only animals left behind were stragglers. An hour had maybe passed before Akira jumped down. She was craving a snack and was slinking through the environment under the cover of the trees and bushes. Feeling something strike her ear, she looked up at the trees and snarled seeing two giggling possums. "Go pick on someone your own size." She growled and they snickered. She was pelted with more rocks and let out an echoing roar, she raced to the tree and dug her claws into the bark, running up it.

The two possums screamed in terror and bolted. Akira was hot on their heels. "Ellie!" She ignored their cries and with a burst of speed as the trees cleared, pounced. She caught them both under her paw, snarling at them as she held them up by their tails. "Saber!" She looked up at the startled cry and saw two full grown mammoths, a sabre and-"Sid?" The sloth grinned at her, waving excitedly, "Akira!" He rushed forward and threw his arms around and she dropped the possums out of shock. She was eyeing the rest of the mammals carefully as the sloth pulled away. "Uh, thanks for not eating my brothers." The female mammoth said and Akira was ready to keel over from shock. "Brothers?!" The shemmoth was pointing to the possums, not the mammoth beside her. "Uh, you're not going to eat us, are you?" Akira blinked, utterly lost. "Uh, Akira, this is my herd. That's Manny," Sid pointed the larger of the two mammoths, "And Diego." The sabre.

"And that's Ellie, Crash and Eddie. They're possums and they're joining us." Ellie was the shemmoth, Crash and Eddie the possums. "Um, Sid, Ellie's a m-" The sloth suddenly shook his head, "No, no, my friend, she's a possum." Akira didn't even bother questioning it, eyeing the group weirdly. "I thought your herd was of sloths. Not a mammoth, three possums and a sabre." He shrugged with a lopsided grin. And she stood, taking a step back. "This is by far the weirdest herd I've ever seen." Sid noticed her slow and retreating steps and frowned, frantically waving his paws around. "Wait, wait! You can't leave. The-the valley is going to flood in two days!" Akira blinked at the sloth whose eyes were pleading with her.

"That's what this whole migration is about?" He nodded, "So, will you come with us?" She arched an eyebrow as the mammoth and sabre exclaimed, "Sid!" The sloth glanced at them over his shoulder, his paw waving dismissively. She eyed the group again and sat on her haunches, "Thanks for the offer, Sid, but I don't think I'm wanted." She turned and began walking away. "Akira, they won't mind! Right?" He was met with silence from his companions, the three possums watching quietly. "But-it can't be safe for a lone sabre! We can protect you!" She paused, staring straight ahead as she heard Manny and Diego talking quietly. No, it wasn't safe for a lone sabre but she'd held out this long.

"You could die!" Akira had continued, ignoring Sid's cries. "I'll go down fighting." She assured bitterly. "Diego, Manny, a little help?!" The sabress rolled her eyes but halted mid-step as the mammoth called out to her. "Hey, we're all travelling together and you might as well come too. If Sid trusts you then I guess you're okay." Akira turned to face the group, her head cocked. "Do you just go around trusting every lone sabre you see?" The sloth and mammoth looked at Diego before shrugging. "Not every lone sabre." Sid exaggerated, bounding over to her and wrapping his arms around her neck. She grunted, "You are oddly touchy." She acknowledged, gently pushing the sloth away. "So she's coming with us?! Uh, don't we have a say in this?" She looked up at the real possums on the shemmoth and her eyes darkened.

"No," Manny snapped and as Ellie looked the sabress over and shrugged, turning around. The possums scurried onto her back and eyed the two sabres travelling at the back. Akira grinned hungrily at them, snapping her jaws menacingly. They cowered and scampered onto Ellie's tusks. She grinned, glancing to her left as she heard a small chuckle. "I think you'll fit right in." She offered the sabre a smile as they walked.


	3. Chapter 2

They stuck close to the group, Akira and Diego in a comfortable silence. When Sid started to lag back, dramatically wailing and panting in exhaustion, Akira stuttered to a stop with a groan. "Sid, if I let you ride on my back, will you shut up?" The sloth perked up almost as soon as the fifth word left her lips and was stumbling over his own feet.

She snorted, moderately entertained as she lowered herself down for the sloth to clamber on. With him secure, she resumed her pace, only a little weight added but never did it slow her down. "Diego, why can't you give me rides like this?" Diego glanced at Akira and looked up at Sid before rolling his eyes. "Because Sid," He simply said. He then noticed a sly grin forming on Akira's lips and his eyes brightened curiously. "What?" She turned to him, gray eyes full of mischief. "How fast are you, Diego?" He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion before he quickly caught on. "Faster than you, I bet." He challenged and she grinned. Sid opened one of his eyes from where he was laying comfortably in his back. "Uh, guys, not right now, please. I'm trying res-" Sid cut himself off with a shrill scream as he was suddenly shot forward, still on the back of the sabress as she bolted into a run. Beside them was Diego, an orange blur as the forest rushed past. Sid continued screaming as he managed to turn himself over and grip Akira's neck.

He didn't know how long they had run for but when they stopped, he scrambled off the sabress' back and proceeded to bring up all the berries he'd eaten that day. He gave a weak cough and groaned as he slumped against a tree trunk. "Sloths aren't supposed to go that fast. Never again."He wheezed and Akira laughed softly, glancing at Diego who was grinning, his adrenaline still pumping. "Sorry, Sid. You wanted a ride and I gave you one, sabre style." To show her sincerity, she nuzzled him gently and the sloth sighed, looking up at her with a defeated smile. "Okay, fine. That was a _little_ fun." He admitted and she grinned at him. "Up for another run then?" Sid's eyes widened as he shook his head frantically. "Yeah, uh no thanks." Akira left Sid, succumbing to the sloth's reassurances that he would be fine. He was waiting for Manny and the others to catch up.

Akira and Diego slinked ahead, both sabres silently appreciating the presence of the other. Coming to the end of the forest and into a rocky plain, they decided to wait for the others. "So, where's your pack?" She glanced to her left at the sabre, sighing softly. It was a question bound to surface in conversation. "I don't know." She answered truthfully and a look on confusion crossed Diego's face. "We were heading to the mountains for the winter-we work better in the cold," She emphasized her thick snow white pelt with various gray markings. "We were hit with a blizzard and the pack was separated." They fell into a round of comforting silence and Akira turned as she heard soft footfalls, tiny feet running about and heavy claws hitting the ground lazily. "So what about your pack? How did you meet your herd?" Diego glanced in the direction the noises emanated and let out an amused breath. "That's a long story."

Akira grew interested, "Well since we're all about doom and gloom with this flood, after we've survived this want to explain it all?" Diego eyed her carefully before nodding. Manny and Sid broke through the trees, Ellie, Crash and Eddie nowhere to be seen. Akira glanced at the sabre beside her who shrugged. They were walking through the plains when she heard frantic scurrying. She glanced behind her and nearly stumbled over her paws in shock seeing Ellie trying to hide behind a tree. She halted, glancing at Manny questioningly. He followed her gaze and sighed. "Ohh, We'll never make it at this pace," He muttered, "Ellie, it's okay! You can lose the camouflage! You're safe!"

The mammoth glanced at them and sighed in relief though she only came out into the open when her brothers gave her the go-ahead. Eddie suddenly shrieked Hawk and Akira watched with wide eyes as the shemmoth ran around before falling onto her back. "What are you doing?" Manny questioned, voicing the thoughts of the sane part of the group. "Playing dead!" Ellie said, her tongue lolling out. "Manny, Why don't you do that?" Akira glanced at Sid with raised eyebrows. "Because I'm a mammoth!" He snapped at the sloth. "But you do it for treats, right?" The sabress rolled her eyes, bringing her attention back to Ellie. They sorted out the little situation with Ellie. Sid made an out of place comment on her sanity but Akira couldn't help but silently agree. The rocky plains vanished and an entire frozen lake was between them and their next meal. The sabress halted at the beginning of the ice as the mammoths and possums walked ahead. Sid skated along the ice, almost showing off as he whizzed by.

Akira slowly continued on, Diego lingering behind. For her, if it could hold two mammoths then it was relatively safe. The three moved along the frozen lake, a little ways behind the mammoths and possums. Sid raced ahead, one of the only times he was ever in front of the group. Akira glanced back at the rocky plains longingly before ahead of her. She could see the beginning of the forest but it was far in the distance. "There are whole continents moving faster than you two, let's go!" Manny called over his shoulder. Akira glanced back before quickening her pace. She had a very foreboding feeling. The possums skated by her and Diego and she grimaced, a little uneasy. "Hey! Knock it off!" The sabre growled at them. Crash came to a stop using Ellie's hoof, catching Eddie by the tail as he zipped past. "Oh cry me a river, blubber tooth tiger. Have some fun!"

Akira heard a faint scraping noise and glanced down. She could've sworn it had come from the ice but no water-dwelling creature could be down there; at least not one big enough to cause a noise like that. "Can't you see the ice is thin enough. without you two wearing it down?" The sabress glanced back at the sabre, saying nothing. She knew where his uneasiness came from. She could see it clearly in his tense posture. It had been present in other tigers and even herself. Fear of water. She had been there herself but her father had forced her to learn, telling her she needed to be prepared for anything the world decided to throw at her. Just because she knew, however, didn't necessarily mean she was content with the idea of water; in fact, she still hated it. "Oh, Diego. The ice may be thin, but it's strong enough to hold, a ten-ton mammoth and a nine-ton possum." Sid commented as he skated past.

Akira stopped again, a growl low in her throat. "What is it?" She looked up at the mammoths and sabre who had turned to face her. "Something's below us." No sooner had the words left her mouth, the ice shatter between and the mammoths, a scarily large green sea creature revealed before it dove back into the water. Akira let out a distressed roar as she was thrown and held her breath as the shock of the cold water hit her. She resurfaced, looking for any signs of land. She saw Diego on a floating piece of ice, Manny, Ellie and the possums on the surface of the lake but she didn't see Sid. "Sid!" She began paddling over to the sloth when he called her name, telling her where he was. Sid hopped onto Akira, breathing heavily and the big cat paddled her way over to Diego. "Akira, faster!" Sid screamed and she didn't have to look behind her to know that one of the creatures were behind her and gaining.

"Diego!" She called as she reached the ice. Sid hopped onto the ice and Akira turned to face the advancing water-dweller. She turned her head and bit Diego's leg, wary of her elongated fangs. The sabre roared and finally moved, hopping along the ice to safety. Akira had scrambled onto a floating ice piece and turned to face the creature. She barely had time to register anything before her makeshift float went flying and she was submerged once again. She scrambled to swim to the top, her head breaking the surface. "Akira!" She turned to her name, seeing Manny with an outstretched trunk. She hastily began swimming over to the mammoth and managed to sink her claws into the ice, hauling herself up. As she was about to pull her back legs out of the water, razor-sharp teeth latched onto them, ripping into her flesh and causing her to release a pained roar that rose the hairs on animals within miles.

Manny surged forward and her grip began to slip as she was drawn. His trunk wrapped around her middle and tugged. The teeth in her leg dug deeper before they were ripped out. Akira lay on the ice, panting heavily as the pain from her wound flared on the cold surface of the ice. She heard a splash and her eyes widened as she saw a sea creature with dark scaly skin lunged for her. She was surprised when tusks obscured her vision and blinked in surprise. The purple water-dweller was caught on Manny's tusks, mouth stretched wide. The mammoth suddenly swung his head and tossed the beast several feet away. Akira felt her vision blur and faded to black.


	4. Chapter 3

Manny eyed the two water-dwellers floating eerily on the surface of the water warily and he stepped onto the stable sheet of ice. He turned and headed toward the safety of land, glancing back to see the creatures sink below the surface of the water. Finding the almost relieving sanctuary of solid ground, he joined Diego, Sid, Ellie and the possums. "What in the animal kingdom was that?" Sid exclaimed, eyes wide as he glanced around at the herd. "I don't know, but from now on, playing safe. Land, safe! Water? Not safe!" Diego sniffed suddenly and noticed the thick smell of blood in the air. "Manny is she-" He was interrupted by Ellie who was looking at Manny with an unreadable emotion. "That was the bravest thing I've ever seen," The shemmoth said and Manny averted his gaze, almost bashfully, "It was nothing really, I-" Ellie's eyes suddenly widened as she shook her head.

"Oh, it's not a compliment. To a possum, bravery is just dumb." The shemmoth turned and began walking the path, her brothers trailing behind her. "Yeah! We're spineless, lily-livered." Manny narrowed his eyes, repeating the words of the female mammoth in a girlish manner as they stumbled into a small clearing. It looked safe enough for the time being and so, with extra care, he lowered a still unconscious Akira onto the ground. Sid almost immediately stopped his teasing, gasping loudly. The sloth began muttering, running off into the bushes with the sabre and mammoth to glance at him worryingly before looking back at the sabress. "How do you think she's doing?" Manny asked quietly, glancing at Diego. He wouldn't openly admit it because even though he wasn't too fond of people outside Diego and Sid(as annoying as the sloth could be) Akira was starting to grow on him.

Occasionally, she'd strike a conversation or make idle jokes that he'd even crack a smile at. "She'll live," The sabre said stiffly. His words weren't reassuring in the slightest. Sid noisily re-entered the clearing and the resident mammals looked at the numerous sticks he held and the tangle of vines, a dipping leaf filled with water balancing on his head precariously, the liquid sloshing with the slightest movements. "Sid, what are you-" The sloth shushed the questioning sabre, carelessly dropping the vines and stick before he removed the bowl of water from his head. "We can't just leave her cut open like this, it'll get infected." While they had to agree with him, they were rightfully concerned about Akira's well-being with Sid taking charge of it. "And what makes you think you can patch it up?" Sid looked up at them, putting his thumbs in his mouth before pulling them out with a 'pop', "Opposable thumbs, my friends." Manny eyed how careful the sloth poured the water on the wound and washed away the blood.

Diego sat down beside him. "How do you know what you're doing?" "I call it sloth-stinct. Like instinct, only for sloths," Sid said and Manny and Diego glanced at each other uneasily. It wasn't like they could do anything more than Sid could-for once. The only others with opposable thumbs were the brothers and they weren't exactly reliable. The sloth then placed two long twigs on either side of the sabress' injured leg and wrapped the vine around it snugly. Manny and Diego were silently impressed at the work done by the usually clumsy and uncoordinated sloth. Diego padded forward and sniffed the wound, nuzzling it softly. "Good job, Sid. You've managed to not screw it up further." The sloth grinned, hearing the compliment behind the supposed insult. Manny nodded at the other herbivore and once again returned Akira to his back, turning to catch up with Ellie and the possums. Sid resumed his teasing as Diego glanced continuously at the still heap of gray fur on Manny's back.

When Akira stirred, it was to joyous yells and whoops. Groggily, she raised her head from the soft downy surface of where she lay and furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as the ground was way farther down than she'd thought it should be. She took in her surroundings of forestry and realized she was on the back of a mammoth, Manny to be specific. There was muffled talk all around her but before anything could register, her ride was suddenly moving quickly and she lowered her head again as her world lurched and spun violently. A nauseous feeling settled in her stomach as they came to an abrupt stop. The talking grew louder and more frantic before the yells quieted or grew farther away it seemed. That's when it hit her like a truck. The pain surged through her body, the agony emanating from her mangled leg. She glanced down at it, whimpering weakly as she saw it had been wrapped.

Not only had the beast that had attacked her nearly ripped it to shreds, but it had also snapped a bone out of place. She could only guess the decently-wrapped twigs in the vine was to help reset the bone and help her walk. "Akira?" She raised her head gingerly at her name, looking down at a blurry Sid and Diego. "How you doing, Tiger?" Manny's voice reached her ears and she glanced at the head of the mammoth. "The pain's bearable. I can walk, Manny." The mammoth shook his head as Diego glanced up at her. "Hey, it's not often he's willing to do something like this; take some advantage." Akira smiled, amused by the sabre's words as she laid her head down on her forepaws, complying. She murmured a soft thank you, purring loudly though briefly to show Manny how thankful she was. The mammoth cracked a smile feeling the tiger purr above him. He like the feeling of importance he felt being able to care for Akira.

Of course, he _always_ had to take care of Sid and look out for Diego occasionally but with the sabress it was different. It reminded him of the protective feelings he'd had when he'd had a family. His eyes suddenly darkened and the mammoth closed his eyes briefly, breathing deeply as he started off into a direction, Diego and Sid hurrying after him. The group travelled for a while more, arriving at more rocky terrain only this time their path was obscured by fallen trees. There was an easier path to take, the possums had discovered but it would hinder their arrival by a few hours. Crash, Eddie and Ellie were playing around in the mess of dead trees, scrambling up and through gaps. Manny paved a way, refusing to force his body through the small gaps; partially to avoid hurting Akira and because he was a mammoth, not a possum.

Said sabre was still awake but she was drifting in and out of sleep as she had been for the past couple hours. The pain in her leg had dulled to a throb but it flared up with the slightest movements, limiting her greatly. "She's not half bad, crazy and confused, but, sweet," Diego' s voice floated up to her. She glanced down at him and Sid, wincing sympathetically as the sloth wasn't knowledgeable to duck when Manny turned to look at Diego, tree trunk in, well, his trunk. "So?" The mammoth tossed the timber behind him, taking another from their path. "So what's holding you back?" The sabre questioned softly, Akira herself curious. Sid was nice enough to fill her in Manny's little crush on Ellie much to the mammoth's annoyance. "My family," Manny said, almost pointedly, a tinge of sadness detected in his voice. Sid scrambled through a log Manny was holding and poked his head out the top.

"You can have that again, you know," The sloth said and the mammoth scowled. "No, Sid. I can't!" He went to throw the log away but the desperate cries of Sid made him pause. "Okay, okay. But. . . but-but, think about it! I mean if you let this chance go, you're just letting your whole species go! And that's just-that's just. . . selfish!" Akira figured there was a better way to put it as she watched the log with Sid sail through the air, landing far away with a loud thud. The sabress looked at the mammoth as Diego left to check on Sid. The mammoth turned his gaze to Ellie who was playing with her brothers and Akira was quiet, looking down at him. "He is right, Manny." The mammoth didn't move to look back at her though his trunk twitched, "You don't know anything." The words were lacking the bite Manny had attempted to put into them and he scowled.

"I don't but Sid is right. You had a family before and with Ellie, you can have it again. I don't know you as well as I'd be lucky to but I know you deserve to be happy, knowledge of your past or not. Let the past go, because your future," She looked at Ellie who was stuck between a gap in the logs. The sabress chuckled softly, "Is right there. Bright and bold. You just have to go get it." He seemed to hesitate, still looking at Ellie. Akira gathered all her strength and raised her forepaws and pulled herself up onto a log, digging her claws into the tree with a quiet hiss of pain. Manny instantly looked up at her with narrowed eyes, concerned but she waved him off with a paw. "Stop stalling. I'll be fine. Go get her."


	5. Chapter 4

Akira slinked through the remaining trunks, wary of her leg and managed to catch up with Diego and Sid. As they questioned where Manny was, she glanced behind her and a smug grin formed in her lips. The boys looked at her, "What did you say to him?" The sabress shrugged, looking at Sid, "A more understanding version of what you did." She turned and made her way up the hill, Diego and Sid watching Manny and Ellie disappear into a forest of Willow trees before joining her. They found a nice place to make camp and Akira took full advantage of collapsing in a comfortable spot. For a moment, pain flared through her leg and her claws dug into the earth underneath her paws, eyes darkening. "Boy, Manny sure took a big leap with Ellie today," Sid began with a grin. Akira raised her head, interest as she suddenly felt warm. She gave the small fire an odd look, glancing at Sid who grinned proudly.

"He sure did." The sabre agreed as Akira buried her head in her forepaws once more. "Yup. He stood on the shore of uncertainty, and dove right in. . . splash! Kind of brave, huh?" She immediately knew what the sloth trying to do, laughing quietly. "The way he faced his fear." Diego rolled his eyes, knowing exactly what Sid was getting at though choosing to ignore it. "I wouldn't know, Sabers don't feel fear." Akira snorted into her paw but made no move to counter Diego. Males and their pride. "Oh, come on! All animals feel fear; it's what separates us from safe! Rocks! Rocks have no fear, and they sink!" Akira raised her head, interested to see how Sid would get the sabre inclined the conquer his fear. "It may surprise you to know that I too have experienced fear." Diego dramatically widened his eyes, looking at the sloth as Akira snickered. "No! You?" It seemed Sid didn't get sarcasm as of yet.

"Oh, yes! As impossible as it seems, the sloth has natural enemies that would like to, harm, or otherwise, kill us!" Diego scowled, "I wonder why," Akira watched with a grin as Sid continued. "Oh, jealousy mostly. But the point is, that fear is natural." Sid had Diego's best interests in mind, that was obvious but she wondered if the sloth was aware of the insane or otherwise unhealthy amounts of pride male sabres could carry. "Fear is for prey!" Sid beamed pointedly, "Well then, you're letting the water make you, it's prey!" The sloth disappeared into the bushes. "Just jump in and trust your instincts!" He appeared on the logs, crawling along them, "You know, most animals can swim as babies, and for a tiger, it's like crawling on your belly to stalk helpless prey."

Sid then fell from the trees, vines keeping him inches above the ground, "Put that hunt on, okay? Now, claw, kick, claw, kick, I'm stalking the prey! Claw, kick! Now, I look back over my shoulder, to see if I am being followed, and I'm breathing-and I'm stalking and I'm stalking," Diego suddenly reached up and cut the vine with a claw, fed up of Sid moving in circles around him and the point he was trying to get across. Akira winced. "I am falling," The sabre looked down at the sloth. "Correction! You're sinking, kind of like a rock." _Sloths_ _will be sloths; Sabers will be sabres._ Akira was dozing in and out of sleep, warmed by the fire and Diego inches away from her. Her head shot up at heavy footsteps and she turned to see Manny approaching. "So, how did it go?" The mammoth gave an awkward smile, "Hmm! Not bad," The sabress knew there was immediately more to that when Ellie rushed past them, an angry expression on her face.

"Okay, let's go! We travelled with you all day, now you're coming with us at night!" Akira winced at the angered tone, standing up reluctantly, stumbling slightly. It would take a while to center herself on the action of walking on three legs. "But we can't see at night." The Sabres and sloth looked at Ellie expectantly but the female merely snapped back at them, "Then enjoy the flood!" Crash and Eddie scurried to the edge of Ellie's rump as the shemmoth stormed away, glaring at Manny. "Pervert!" At that, the sabress could easily decipher where Manny had gone wrong with his words. "Making friends, everywhere you go, just making friends." Sid sang as he walked after the shemmoth, Diego and Akira following after him with Manny close behind. A thin layer of fog covered the ground of the rocky terrain and made it slightly difficult to see but Akira's night vision never failed her. The only difficulty was avoiding the rocks, dips and sudden tiny drops with her injury.

She stopped suddenly, Sid and Manny immediately halting behind her. She sidestepped a rock stump, the mammoth and sloth careful to as well. Diego was behind keeping an eye out for stray animals or any sign of danger. For the obstacles not in her path, she'd mutter where they were. Another rock stump was coming up and she issued a warning but Sid missed it and paid the price. She winced as the sloth walked right into the stump, an unfortunately perfect height that could've rendered him unable to have children in the future had he been going any faster. The possums called out the stump after the sloth's accident. With Manny attempting the talk to Ellie, the Sabres and sloth hung behind, carrying the rear of the group as, as always, Crash and Eddie ran ahead. What was unexpected was the grinding of rock against rock and the terrified screams that followed.

The rock surface suddenly disappeared from underneath her and she was falling for a few petrifying seconds before she collided with a rock slab. She roared in agony, leg throbbing with pain that spread throughout her body momentarily. Shifting, she saw the possum brothers clinging to each other as they stared with wide eyes. The platform suddenly lurched and Akira's paw shot out and grabbed Crash and Eddie before they could go off the edge, her claws of her other three digging themselves into the hard surface. "Stop moving!" Came Diego's yell and as the brothers scrambled onto her for safety, she spared a look up to see Diego dangling from the edge of a rock, Manny and Ellie on top of it with Sid holding onto Diego. "Thank you." Diego sighed as the lurching stop. No sooner had the words left his mouth a rock from their balancing beam broke and they fell a bit, Sid losing his grip on Diego.

Akira peered over the edge and was relieved to see the sloth had caught himself on another ledge. The rock holding Manny, Ellie and partially Diego cracked in the middle. "Manny, Ellie! Lock trunks!" The two mammoths turned to each other with a glare. Akira growled low in her throat. "Now!" The Sabres snarled and the mammoths complied. The sabress turned around to look at the ledge of stable ground a foot away. "Crash, Eddie, I need you to grab that ledge, okay?" The possums scrambled onto her head and peered over at her, "Funny! And now, what's your real plan?" She flashed her fangs at them and they yelped, sliding off her and going to the edge. Manny and Ellie shifted slightly, swinging their slice of rock to the ledge and allowing Eddie to grab on, stabled by Crash. "I'm sorry, if what l said before offended you!"

Akira gasped, sinking her claws further into the rock as the balance was uneven and the rocks all jerked, nearly dislodging Eddie from his hold on the ledge. "What do you mean _if_ it offended me?" Akira and the possums cried up to the mammoths, " _That_ it offended her! _That_ it offended her!" Manny was quick to correct himself. "I mean _that_ , _that_ it offended you. You just overreacted, that's all." Akira winced but couldn't help but agree. "Take it back!" Yet she couldn't help but agree with that as well. "There are other lives at stake here!" And that. As Akira pulled the possums dangling over the edge back onto the rock, Sid decided to add his input. "Wait a minute! He's got a point!" "He's got nothing!" Eddie cried, clutching his brother and the sabress. "It was a misunderstanding!" Sid countered and the possums glared.

"It was insensitive!" "Apologize!" Diego yelled. "Why me? She overreacted!" Akira was starting to lose her grip and her patience. "Just apologize!" Manny stayed defiant, "No!" "Do it!" The Sabres cried, both just wanting the tension to be relieved so they could get out of the situation alive. "Okay, I'm sorry!" The apologizing voice was feminine and caught them all off-guard. "What?!" "He's right. I overreacted." That ended there as none of them wanted to anger either of the mammoths and risk their lives. Sid's ledge shifted and he moved to grab a hold on the edge but missed it completely, falling off instead. "Run!" Akira's eyes widened as the offset was unbalanced. Their rock slice was passing the ledge and she needed to jump to get there.

Under any other circumstances, she could've made it but this wasn't any other circumstances. She was at a disadvantage and there was no one to save her this time. Without a second thought, she gathered Eddie and Crash in her mouth and reared back before swinging her head, tossing them through the air where they skidded across the rocky terrain. "Akira!" Her rock slab fell abruptly but was still standing though swinging wildly. "Jump!" Sid cried frantically, claw outstretched and desperately grabbing. The possums were perched on his shoulders, expression despairing. She was the last still on the tower, everyone else safe on solid, stationary ground. She gave a resigned smile as her slab finally collapsed, taking her with it.


	6. Chapter 5

The unusual herd reentered the forest, the air around them solemn. The rocky plains were behind them but what or rather who they lost was not. Rarely but understandably, Sid was silent and the possums lagged behind, they too silent. Neither joked, barely speaking words. Despite assured several times by Ellie and Manny, the sabre, sloth and possums felt responsible. She couldn't make the jump because of her injured leg, something she acquired when she risked her life to save Sid and Diego. They settled in a clearing, Ellie and Manny issuing the needed order. The mammoths found comfort in it each other, Crash and Eddie distancing themselves as did Diego. It left Sid as the odd one out. If Akira was here he'd be with her but her absence was the reason he was alone, wasn't it? Their herd was grieving her death brought upon by the two sacrifices she had made for them; mammals she barely knew.

A Northern Sabre lay motionless, the coppery rock beneath it stained with red. The gray pelt of the sabre was matted with grime and blood. Vultures cackled as they landed around it, featherless heads vibrant against their onyx-coated bodies. Their razor-sharp beaks tugged at the thick pelt, desperate for the generous meal when a black blur pounced and landed by the sabre, taking a defensive stance. The vultures cawed in alarm, taking flight. The Nigrae shooed the more daring vultures before focusing glowing amber eyes on the still form of the sabress. He lowered himself to the ground and gently latching onto the Nothern sabress' scruff, he shifted her onto his back before standing straight. The panther disappeared into the night, the gray sabre on his back as he slinked through the terrain.

Akira stirred, peeling back her eyelids. She wrinkled her muzzle in confusion as she raised her head slightly, looking around. She wasn't dead, she realized looking around the large expanse of a cool cave, the surface she lay on dampened and soft with moss. She wondered how it was even remotely possible she survived the fall and was no longer in the rocky plains but her thoughts of her survival were momentarily set aside smelling the slab of meat she'd somehow completely missed. Cautiously, she examined it before she shuffled forward and gulped it down. She was hungry and rightfully so, she hadn't eaten something properly fulfilling in days. The sabress pushed herself up onto her forepaws, glancing over her shoulder to see the state of her leg. She winced at her dirtied pelt but as her gaze travelled further down, she saw her leg wasn't in that bad of shape.

Sid's makeshift splint was gone and it looked newly taken care of to which she frowned. Waking up in a bedded cave with food and her wound treated meant that someone had carried her elsewhere and looked after her. Wary of her leg, she got onto her three intact and shuffled over to the entrance of the cave. The sun was shining down through the trees, a small and safe water source just a few feet away. Well, there were actually several puddles and it made her realized the water was slowly coming, the threat of the flood imminent. She padded over to a shallow puddle and quenched her thirst. There was a snap of a twig behind her and abruptly her head was raised, ears perked as she listened intently, sniffing the air. There was another predator behind her in the bushes.

Turning carefully, she saw a Nigrae sitting by the entrance of the cave, tail swishing lazily as it examined her curiously. "You're awake," They stated and she pinned the deep voice as male. Seeing as the feline was in no offensive stance, she relaxed slightly but her guard was still up. "How am I still alive?" As everything seemed to be catching up to her, she felt the sudden soreness in her muscles, the painful throbbing in her flank and her injured leg. To keep herself upright, she locked her limbs despite how badly she wanted to collapse from exhaustion. "Your guess would be as good as mine, Sabre." She narrowed her eyes at the onyx feline. "I'll try again, why did you take me?"

The Nigrae shrugged, "I was looking for dinner actually. You should know that by predator law we don't let food go to waste. I was travelling with you through the forest when it occurred to me you were still alive. We're opportunistic by nature but I wasn't about to kill you as a fellow feline." He paused, amber eyes trailing over her, "You look like someone I've met before and it peaked my interest and so I decided there was no harm in leaving you alive, in fact, I even nursed you to a certain point. Without my help, just know you'd be dead." Akira snarled, baring her fangs. "You're looking for a thank you but I never expected to survive the fall."

Amber eyes danced with amusement. "I'd be surprised if the lot of you weren't related." He murmured, talking to himself. "We've got only a couple hours to get to the boat. With your condition, it's just enough time." With that, he stood and started off along a winding path. Akira didn't want to follow him, every part of her predator instincts were telling her not to but what choice did she have. She wasn't even supposed to be alive, what did she have to lose? Her pack and...herd rightfully thought her to be dead.

Sabre and Nigrae had made it past the geysers and had joined up with the migrating mammals. Akira, having made it just in time, looked around for two mammoths, two possums, a sabre and a sloth, a pack of Northern Sabres or both. The two felines were amidst the centre of the congregation of moving animals when an earth-rumbling crack sounded. All the mammals looked back to see a series of cracks run down along the glacier wall. Volumes of water pushed through and the thinned wall crumbled under pressure. Animals screamed and began hurrying their pace two get onto the boat and escape the rushing water. Needing to get a higher vantage point that was not obscured by the mammals rushing towards the boat, Akira scrambled up onto a rock that jutted from the ground, towering high.

Her eyes scanned the area and when she found a large brown mammoth, she grinned. She frowned suddenly when she saw him running against the crowd. Her eyesight spotted the possums, Sid and Diego but no Ellie. She looked from them to the boat and growled in indecision. She'd risked her life for them all twice, third time's the charm. The Nigrae was already on the boat and had looked over his shoulder, creases appearing in his forehead when he saw the sabress was missing. He propped himself up on the edge of the boat and saw her running/limping against the panicked animals. He sighed, digging his claws into the wooden material of the boat. Going after her was a death sentence and unlike the sabress, he had forms of self-preservation.

Akira burst through the last of the panicked animals, muscles straining in protest to her fast and abrupt movements. She skidded to a stop as she was the water burst over the expanse of rocky terrain. She could make it to the boat if she turned and she almost retreated. Almost. Seeing Manny, Sid, Diego and the possums still rushing forward, she realized she couldn't. Unknowingly she had grown more attached than she'd thought. The volumes of water crashed down, breaking the rock that gave little resistance. Crash, Eddie and Manny fell into the water, Sid and Diego estranged on a small rock island. Akira was running for them when she heard a wail. For the second time, she skidded to a stop and turned to find the source. A cub was struggling to keep its head above the surfaced, crying.

Akira glanced at the unusual herd before deciding that the cub needed her help if she could give it. Running the end of the rock to where it fell to the water, she called for the baby. "Over here! Swim this way!" It frantically looked around before its blue eyes found her and it began paddling awkwardly toward her. The cub was getting closer but there was another break in the rocks letting in more water and the current was working against the cub. It wails grew more desperate. Akira couldn't jump in. She couldn't. So she ran along the rock surface that followed the current and the cub found her, using the current in his favour. The sabress locked her claws into the rock and snatched up the cub and deposited on the ground beside her.

The water was now rising to which she picked the baby up again, eyes worried. The boat, an abnormally large piece of bark, was already dislodged and floating away. She would never be able to reach it. She made a move to go to where she'd left her herd but the rock broke under her paw and she was forced to jump back. The height of the water was rising at an alarming rate now and the only way left to go was up but the strong current could easily push the jutting rock to topple over. She was at an impasse and if she didn't make a decision fast, it would cost them both their lives. The water grazed her paws and within seconds they were completely covered. Soon, she'd be under and any lurking predators would have her and the cub for dinner.

She finally made a decision to go up when a dead carcass of a beaver brushed her leg. There was a chunk taken out of it meaning one of the said predators had already started their feasting. Akira was position against the jutting rock, ready to stave off the pain from her overstressed muscles and leg when there was a loud breaking, ripples in the water from the vibration. There was a long jagged fracture in the glacier wall only no water poured out this one. Instead, the water seemed to be receding and Akira lowered herself to stand flatly against her platform as the water drained into the ravine.


	7. Chapter 6

The water had withdrawn entirely, the ground safe. At least for the animals that were still alive. There were some scattered corpses that had Akira feeling a little sick when wondering the state of her herd and pack. The cub clambered beside her, staying close as they approached the boat. Mammals piled off it, some looking solemn, some merely content and some outright embracing the ground and showering it in kisses and with praises. Akira cracked a smile at the latter. Her eyes scanned the crowds of mammals but she couldn't pick out any Northern Sabres. She saw a few of the Southern kind like Diego but none that matched her nor the cub.

"Nine lives indeed," The Nigrae that had rescued her approached. "And the rest are to stay. I don't plan on getting in any more near-death experiences any time soon." He chuckled, glancing at the cub beside her. "None of the Sabres on board were missing a cub." Akira winced at this, the cub looking up at them with wide eyes. "My m-mummy and daddy said everything would be okay before they left." Both felines suddenly narrowed their eyes. "Left? Left where?" The cub shuffled uneasily, "T-they said goodnight and that everything would be okay when I woke up. Mummy was crying but she promised." Akira's mouth fell open in disbelief realized what had happened. The baby sabre's parents had abandoned him.

"Your parents aren't coming back, cub." The sabress snarled at the Nigrae's harsh words but immediately averted her attention to the cub who began to cry. She pulled him close, "What's your name, sweetheart?" Akira asked, nudging the cub with her nuzzle reassuringly. "Perdito," He sniffled. "Akira," She offered softly and the cub gave a watery smile before looking at the onyx feline expectantly with big blue eyes. "Solus," The Nigrae offered gruffly. The sabress glared but their attention was quickly averted as there were small tremors in the ground. Perdito scrambled between her legs, underneath as his small form trembled. Akira was too shocked to calm the cub and reassure him. Over the horizon emerged a herd of mammoths.

 _So Manny and Ellie weren't the last ones_ , she thought to herself with a smile before it fell. Manny and Ellie. Crash, Eddie, Sid and Diego. She had to find them. _If there was anything left to find_. She shuddered at the thought as she hastily picked up Perdito by his scruff, the cub yelping the surprise. Solus raised an eyebrow at her frantic movements. Akira didn't pay him much mind, looking around as she made her way closer to the cluster of animals awed by the mammoths. She was starting to lose hope, thinking the worse when she found a familiar looking sloth alongside a familiar sabre with two mammoths and two possums. She set Perdito down and went to approach them when she paused, looking over her shoulder to see Solus walking away. "Solus!" The Nigrae halted, glancing at her. "Thank you,"

He nodded and she could've sworn she saw the stoic feline crack a small smile before he turned and bounded off. She approached Sid and Diego, frowning as the mammoths and possums were nowhere to be seen. The mammoth herd was moving and she frowned deeper when she spotted Ellie and her brothers among them. Approaching Diego and Sid from behind, she sat beside the sloth, Perdito plopping down beside her. "You okay, Sid?" She questioned, grinning at the sniffling sloth. She snickered as the sloth screeched, jumping in surprise. He whirled around before his face broke out into a wide grin. "Akira!" She managed to keep them both upright as he lunged at her. "Did you miss me, Sid?" She inquired cheekily.

The sloth was sobbing into her shoulder and she looked down, genuinely a little worried now. "Sid?" The sloth reared back, tear-streaked face obscured with a glad grin. "Really bad sense of deja vu, that's all." He said and Diego chuckled behind him, coming to stand beside the sloth. "How did you survive the fall?" Akira tilted her head, tempted to mention Solus but refrained. "Nine lives, baby." The sabre grinned at that, "So you, uh, sticking around?" Akira shrugged, "Got myself attached, didn't I?" She gestured her head to Sid who grinned impossibly wider. "Better be or else we'd have taken you with us by force." The Sabres and the sloth looked back with a grin to see Manny and Ellie walking toward them. "Hey, Tiger." The mammoth grinned.

Akira smiled. Sarcastic Manny was good but Happy Manny was refreshing. "Akira!" She laughed as the possums threw themselves at her. "Handfuls you two are but, I missed you." She nuzzled the possums, looking up with a smile as she felt a soft trunk caress her head. Ellie smiled back down at her. "I never thanked you for what you did for my brothers. Thank you so much." Akira's smile softened, "You don't have to thank me, Ellie." "But I'm going to." The sabress and shemmoth smiled at each other. "So who's your friend?" Eddie questioned and the herd's attention shifted to the cub hiding underneath the sabress. Pedito whimpered at the eyes on him. "It's okay, hun." She assured. "He was abandoned by his parents. I can't-well, I _don't_ want to leave him as they did." Ellie smiled, reaching out her trunk, "Of course. Hey little guy."

Pedito looked up at Akira with uncertainty but as a silent question to which she smiled, nodding softly. He warily padded forward to trunk distance of Ellie. The shemmoth rubbed his head gently, both females smiling as Pedito purred in content. "Cute little guy he is." And with that, they started their journey outside of the glacier walls. Pedito walked with Ellie for a bit before he fell in step with Sid who told him of a surprisingly detailed story of how he, Manny and Diego saved a human baby. She glanced Diego who was matching her pace, "He's joking right?" The sabre grinned, shaking his head, "It was quite the adventure." Akira shook her head, blinking in mild surprise. Her herd was unusual, of course before the females and possums joined they had to have been on some memorable adventure. Akira smiled absently at that; her herd.

 **Latin to English Translation:**

 ** _Nig_ rae \- _Nigrum_ Pantherae \- Black Panther**

 **Perdito - Perdita - Lost**

 **Solus - Alone**


	8. Chapter 7

**Fossil-Sized Dilemma - Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs**

A Northern Sabre was crouched, unseen as its silver coat blended with the fresh snow. An antelope was grazing, digging for plants and grass to feast on. The feline went to move closer but the antelope raised its head and it froze. Now more cautious, the antelope went back to grazing, its body tense and ready to run. The Sabre lunged with a roar, stunning the antelope momentarily. The prey struggled under the predator, narrowly missing the killing bite. A swift kick to the Sabre's flank triggered its escape and it was off, tearing through the trees, snow and ice. The Sabre was close behind it but the antelope was still in front.

It was gaining courage, slight reassurance that it would escape, when a larger Sabre jumped out of the bushes, pelt a pure white. It was as faster as it was larger and that's when the fear crept in. He faltered, losing his footing briefly but it was enough to seal his death sentence. A paw struck out and claws sunk into his calf, ripping open flesh. He tripped, falling to the ground at the pain of fangs sinking into his other calf and ripping mercilessly. He was writhing in agony, struggling to stand back up and run when the killing bite was delivered.

The smaller but more built Sabre immediately dug in and the larger but slim Sabress raised her eyebrow. "Leave some for us, Perce, jeez." The smaller Sabre gave a sheepish look, though, the innocence in it was conflicted by the blood coating his maw. "Sorry, mom." Akira smiled softly at this. Perdito, purposely renamed Percy, had taken up the habit of calling her mom half a year with being with her and it was fitting with how much she babied him. "Where's Uncle Diego?" The white tiger shrugged. "Somewhere," She murmured and no sooner had the words left her mouth a tan blur lunged from the corner of her eye. She leapt out of the way with incredible grace and Diego tackled Percy instead.

She grinned as the Sabres were busy untangling themselves, helping herself to her share. "It almost worked; keep trying." Diego glared, helping Percy up by his scruff. The cub grunted in protest. "How did you even know I was there?" Akira nudged the remaining third of the kill towards Diego, "A lady never tells her secrets." The Sabre grunted, helping himself to the rest. Akira was cleaning her bloodied paws when she saw the contrast of silver and red on Percy's pelt. The cub was gnawing on a leg bone, careless of his bloody coat. Akira grimaced, walking over to him.

"You know you'd give them a heart attack going back like this." She pulled the smaller Sabre over, licking the blood from his fur. "Mom!" He groaned but didn't fuss aloud, instead, sulking as he held still. Diego snickered at the cub's expense and Percy growled at him, scowling. "Why don't you clean Diego?" The younger of the three demanded and said Sabre snorted as he returned to his meal. Akira leaned over to look Percy in the eyes, "Because he remembers the last time he forgot to clean up." She gave the Southern Sabre a pointed look at this.

He managed to look a little sheepish when his eyes, a fusion of green, brown and yellow Akira loved, flickered up from the heap of luke-warm meat. The first and hopefully, in his favour, the last time he missed a spot when cleaning his pelt and paws stained from his last kill. The possums and Sid had been incredibly wary around him for a whole week and for two weeks Manny wouldn't let him anywhere near Ellie who had been halfway into her pregnancy then. It was a little extreme in Akira's opinion; it wasn't as if Diego was suddenly going to pounce and devour but Manny's protective father instincts had been in overdrive as of late.

His and Ellie's baby was due any day now and the mammoth was twitchy and was constantly checking on Ellie. Akira finished grooming her own fur, Percy scrambling away from her when she released her grip on him. She laughed softly, shaking her head at him, "We should head back. We probably missed Manny's big surprise for Ellie." As she stood steadily, she flexed her back leg; specifically, the one she had injured two years ago. It had healed nicely and there was rarely anything that surfaced with it anymore. Turning, she missed the hesitance of Diego as he stepped over the remaining bones of their last kill for the next couple of days and she missed Percy glaring at the Sabre, mouthing 'Tell her'.

Akira was talking with Ellie who was telling of everything the baby had done in her absence when Manny came storming up to them. The two females exchanged worried glances. "This is why guys don't talk to guys." The mammoth grunted, his voice low and annoyed. "Why? What happened?" The Sabress and shemmoth questioned. "Diego's leaving." Ellie immediately looked to Akira who instantly deflated, expression despairing. The sabress looked to Percy who was standing there looking the most apologetic she had ever seen him in the past two years. "You knew," She merely stated and the cub averted his gaze to the ground, his form practically radiating his guilt.

Akira didn't wait for a response from Percy or Ellie as she bounded off in the direction Diego's scent laced with Sid was the strongest; most recent. "This should be the best time of our lives. We're having a baby!" She heard the sloth's voice exclaim as she was hidden in the cover of the trees. "No, Sid. _They're_ having a baby." The Southern Sabre snapped. "Yeah, but we're a herd, a family." Sid insisted. "Look, things have changed. Manny has other priorities now. Face it, Sid. We had a great run, but now it's time to move on." The sloth frowned before nodding despite the downcast expression. "So it's just the two of us." "No, Sid, it's not the two of us." Diego shot down, Sid wincing as he seemed to be losing the hopeful look.

"Akira, Perce, Crash and Eddie are coming with us?" Diego didn't answer, Sid looking even more crushed. "Just Akira, Perce, and Crash?" Silence. "Akira and Perce?" The Sabre winced at that, walking away from the sloth, the Northern Sabre hidden in the snow. "Bye, Sid." Akira watched as the two parted different ways and she wasn't sure what hurt more; the absolutely crushed and betrayed look on Sid's face or the fact that Diego was leaving without so much as a goodbye. Deciding to find the sloth later, she bounded after the sabre who had become one of the most important mammals to her.

Diego stiffened, continuing his pace as he heard the sound of paws hitting the snow at a steady rhythm. "You were just going to leave?" He heard the soft voice question behind him and he stopped midstep, keeping his gaze ahead of him. He didn't want to turn and see the utter look of betrayal on the face of the sabress. "There's no reason for us to stay, Akira. Manny and Ellie are settling down and starting a family; are we just going to stick around and be at the beck and call of their kid? Don't you want to find other Sabres, Akira? Your pack?" The sabress flinched at this but he didn't see.

Akira averted her eyes momentarily, blinking back tears that threatened to come forth and suppressed the surfacing feelings. "Of course I do," She whispered softly, answering Diego's question. "Then come with me and wherever you go, Perce is willing to follow. We could find your pack and join them, be with actual Sabres; hunt as a pack and never have to worry about slipping up; worry about walking on nails around them like we do now." It was convincing and Akira trusted Diego enough to follow him blindly in search for a Sabre pack, specifically hers. But Perce was attached to the possums and Sid and bonded with Ellie; the shemmoth like a second mother to him.

And Akira. . . she adored Sid, Crash and Eddie and Manny and Ellie filled the place of her parents and she loved them for it-even if Manny could be a little overbearing at times-but Diego was just as important as they were to her; maybe a little more than she'd care to admit. Sighing shakily, she walked forward to stand beside the sabre who didn't turn his head to look at her. Gingerly, she rested her head on the shoulder of Diego, "Visit every once in a while, will you?" The sabre released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He brushed off the sensations bubbling at the feel of the sabress touching him and nuzzled her back, shoving away his displeasure at her reluctance to join him. "Yeah."


	9. Chapter 8

Akira left Diego to continue and it was a tearful departure-at least for her. Diego hadn't cried because he was a male tiger with ungodly amounts of pride and he was a fierce predator that didn't cry. She had snorted to herself as the thought crossed her mind. As if he had much dignity left with the things Sid and Percy coerced him into doing. Akira was walking back, memories of the sabre resurfacing. A lump formed in her throat and took residence as she felt nothing short of depressed as she went in search of Sid.

 _The land was littered with freshly fallen snow, towering mountains standing erect from the ground. In the midst of the tallest was an earthy ledge frozen, the mouth of a twisting and turning cave that led into complex chambers deep in the mountains remained hidden from those that were clueless to its existence. A large muscular Sabre with a magnificent white pelt strolled inside. The cave warm despite the chilling cold of the outside air. The Alpha of Nix, the largest and well-known Sabre pack in the North, stared down at his chosen mate and the cubs she had successfully birthed weeks ago_ _._ _There were three in total; two dark gray in colour with black streaks._ _Their pelts were similar to his mate Calora's who had also predicted before the Cubs had even been born; their eyes were the distinguished gray his were._

 _The third one, youngest and the smallest was, instead of a dark gray like Calora, a sleek silvery white that seemed to glisten. This cub's eyes were a striking blue like Calora's and were charming and sweet from the words of his mate. She wasn't easily pushed aside by her bigger siblings but she wasn't forceful either. Argentis, they would go on to call her before her name developed into something else, Akira, as the sabress better preferred. The Oldest Elder, Sapientia, described the youngest cub of the highest ranked family to be bright and intelligent; constantly driven by her pure curiosity. Sapientia was the first to refer to her as Akira, speaking of how the name meant intelligent. No one questioned the Elder's renaming but the sabress soon responded to Akira and nothing else and so over the years; only her parents called her Argentis._

Akira tried to ignore the pain in her chest from the memories. She didn't need them; they would be no good now. Her pack wasn't there anymore. Now god knows where. Her desire for distraction came in the strangest ways. She found Sid. . . running around with. . . "Dinosaurs!?" Everything ceased and slowly, the three faces turned to her before ducking behind Sid. "Akira! Meet my kids!" The sloth was so excited he was stumbling over his own feet as he moved out of the way to give a clear view of the timid hatchlings. "Sid. . . those are dinosaurs." The sloth nodded, "And also my kids."

Akira blinked, deeming that after all this time Sid could still surprise her and leave her speechless. It _was_ Sid after all. "Come," He stumbled forward and pulled on her paw, "As a single mother, I need all the help I can get." The sabress huffed, questioning what she was getting herself into as she bent under Sid's pleas.

Akira sat on an island rock as the baby dinosaurs played in the water. Sid was right on the shore, one of the three babies bounding up to him. "'Kira, like this?" The sabress glanced over at the sloth and did a double-take as she saw the sloth scrubbing the dinosaur with something furry. "No, Sid. I don't know what that is but you might want to put it down before you scar it."

The sloth complied and the dripping ball of fur was dropped, unfolding to reveal a baby beaver. "Sorry, hun!" Akira called out as the little guy scrambled away, understandably frightened. "Sid, be more attentive." The sloth frowned before nodding, looking as determined as he could get.

Akira rested in the shallow cave as Sid played with his "kids". The sabress has avoided telling the sloth to bring the three back after he told her he'd found them abandoned in an icy cave. She didn't want to risk taking them back for if they were abandoned, they would most likely freeze or starve if not both. She'd look after them until her help wasn't needed or momma came and found them. Akira couldn't help the sinking feeling that momma would be a little bigger with way more teeth. Sid and the hatchlings were playing with a ball but she couldn't help but notice how it twitched every so often.

Her suspicions that maybe it was alive were confirmed when a sabre-toothed squirrel suddenly unfolded, screaming bloody murder as the hatchlings tackled Sid. One of them got side-tracked, chasing the little rodent around the cave and Akira caught it by the tail, nuzzling the hatchling and redirecting it toward Sid and her brothers. "Sorry, hun but this little guy would give you indigestion." The little dinosaur whined but ran off to Sid. Akira looked down at Scrat who chittering angrily, offended by her words. "She didn't eat you now, did she?" Scrat stopped mid-rant, huffing. "That's what I thought. Now, stay out of trouble." The squirrel nodded, puffing out his chest with a salute before bounding off.

Two days had passed. The first, Diego had left the herd and Sid became a mother of three; the second, well, an absolute disaster. Akira had taken a break from the herd, something that would prove to be a disastrous mistake. She was satiating her hunger, knawing lazily in the cleaned leg bone of her latest kill, Percy resting beside her when there was a tremble. It caught her attention quickly because nothing was heavy enough much less hard enough to cause a heavy tremor. Her fears from day one were confirmed when she saw a familiar scaly muzzle rise above the crown of the forest. It kept rising until she had a clear view of a reptilian head: the head of a dinosaur. Momma dinosaur. Akira had woken up Percy and sent him back to their cave with the remaining kill before bolting in the direction of the herd.

There was a deep, dominating roar that made every mammal's fur stand on end as she neared the village and she pushed herself to go faster, hoping Sid was sensible enough to hand over the hatchlings. He wasn't. She skidded into the clearing where it was chaos; loud chaos. Mammals were running around like headless birds, screaming sharply. Momma Dino was focused on a rock slab metres off the ground and she instantly knew why. Sid's familiar shrill scream, as well as the hatchlings cries, were coming from underneath the rock. "Akira! Talk some sense into him!" She heard Manny's yell and huffed as she leaped in front of the distraught hatchlings and Sid as Momma Dino ripped off the rock slab.

Akira let out a thundering roar and the reptile before her faltered, looking down at her with what could only be seen as confusion. She was at her wit's end in fear and was fully expecting to die when the dinosaur leaned down, mouth wide but she simply felt her tail being latched gently between teeth before she was dangling upside down several feet above the ground. If possible, Sid's scream grew louder and in response, so did the hatchlings. "Sid! Akira!" She managed to twist her head to find Manny, Ellie and the possums before her world lurched with Momma Dino's turn. They were heading away from the village. Far away.

Manny, Ellie and the possums halted at the beginning of a deep gaping cavern. "Sid and Akira must be down there," Manny said, his tone foreboding. "Well, he's dead." Eddie said, peeking over the small ledge, "Real shame." Crash continued. "He will be missed." Eddie agreed. The two turned tail, ready to scramble back to the safety of the surface when they were restrained by Ellie. "Oh, no, no, no. Not so fast. Sid is family and Akira was taken too. All things be damned if we just let them die." Manny glanced down the cavern before looking back at his mate, "Okay, Ellie, this is where I draw the line. You, Crash and Eddie, back to the village." Ellie turned to Manny, disbelieving.

"Yeah, that's gonna happen." The male was lost to his wife's defiance. "Ellie, you saw that thing! This is gonna be dangerous!" He groaned as the shemmoth walked ahead, "Talk to the trunk." "Great. After we save Sid, I'm gonna kill him." Akira would be excused. She was only trying to protect Sid as the sloth wouldn't back down.


	10. Chapter 9

A whole new world. They had been living above a completely different world their entire lives. The world of dinosaurs stretched on for miles and miles it seemed. With the new world came several new revelations. Just like up top, there were dangers. The strange herd discovered that quickly. They were sure goners when they were rescued by a weasel of all things. Buckminster or Buck for short. He was odd but Diego had taken a quick liking to him. The sabre had joined the mammoths and possums during their first encounter with a dinosaur in the world underneath the ice. "What are you doing here?" Buck questioned as he leapt down from manny's tusk.

"Our friends were taken by a dinosaur." Ellie supplied and the weasel spared them nothing. "Well! They're dead. Welcome to my world. Now go home." The mood darkened a bit before Buck brightened, "Off you pop." He turned, already walking away when he was halted by the following words. "Not without Sid and Akira." The female mammoth said, Diego nodding as he gestured his head pointedly to a line of tracks. "If you go in there, you'll find your friends," The weasel paused, "In the afterlife." The possums were entranced by the aura of the weasel but not subtly like Diego was. Subtle was never a word to describe Crash or Eddie. "How do you know, O Great and Wisely Weasely One?"

The nimble mammal scurried over to the track and the herd watched with mild concern as he licked the print left by Momma Dino. "Mommy dinosaur carrying her three babies, some floppy green thing and a. . . oh. . . snow." Manny nodded, the others perking up. "Yeah, we're friends with the floppy green thing and. . . snow." "You got all that from the tracks?" Diego questioned and Buck glanced up as he caressed the blade of his knife. "No. Not really. I saw them come through here earlier. She's headed for Lava Falls. That's where they care for the newborns. To get there, you've got to go through the Jungle of Misery, across the Chasm of Death to the Plates of Woe." Manny hummed, turning around with the others following suit.

"Okay! Good luck with the slow descent into madness. We're gonna go now." Buck stared open-mouthed before scrambling to the front of the herd, stopping Manny. "What, you think this is some sort of tropical getaway? You can't protect your mate, mate. What are you gonna do with those flimsy tusks when you run into the beast? I call him Rudy." The weasel had wanted to come off as menancing, to inject some fear for Rudy into the herd. He hadn't.

When Akira regained consciousness, it was to Sid's shrill screams. That woke her up almost instantly, her muscles protesting as she leapt to her feet. She stumbled, her vision blurring.

She was taken aback seeing the sloth dangling inches off the ground, limbs tangled in vines. In her sudden conscious state, she had attracted the attention of the mother dinosaur. Her claws dug into the soft ground, her fur bristling and she snarled, ready to pounce. Of course, she was nowhere near a match for the mother; she had bigger claws and sharper teeth on her side but Akira was quicker and alert. The fossilized reptile stepped forward, mouth lowered dangerously close when the miniature versions of the dinosaur leapt in the line of attack, growling cutely. Akira, despite the dangerous situation, snorted as Sid grinned.

"Score one for the sloth and sabre." Sid's grin was smug though not for long. Akira and the hatchlings winced as a tail gave a resounding smack to the clustering of vines. The ropes coiled around a branch, Sid stretched thin. "Sloth and Momma are all tied up." He wheezed out. Akira sighed, scurrying up the tree, Momma Dinosaur in her peripheral. With a quick swipe, she snapped the vines, retracting Sid and catching him before he hit the ground. "Phew, thanks, A." She nodded though her attention wasn't on Sid but the tropical environment around them. She saw the vast, colourful landscape and couldn't help but stare in awe. Birds flew high above, sunlight streaming through where the ice was thin. Where the earth rose up in the sky it was met with jagged icicles; where the two worlds clashed.

There were mixed calls of the surrounding reptiles and it all just seemed peaceful in a strange way. "You live here?" She murmured quietly, Momma Dino glancing up at her before shrugging. "It's beautiful." The reptile snorted, leaning down to usher her babies along. Akira had nearly lost sight of them in the thick vegetation and reluctantly, she jumped back down, snorting as Sid fell down less gracefully beside her. "Hey, wait up!" She sighed as Sid ran ahead, looking back before trailing after him. So far, their best bet was to follow Momma until they eventually found a way back up.

Manny couldn't wait to find Akira and Sid and hightail it out of there. It wasn't for the fact that this place was unfamiliar, but there was danger around every corner. Carnivorous dinosaurs _and_ plants and aggressive herbivores. And then there was the in between. "So you're just living down here by your wits, all on your own, no responsibilities," Diego said, his tone a slight question as they travelled along the trail. "Not one. It's incredible. No dependents, no limits. It's the greatest life a single guy could have." Buck said as he walked up front, looking over his shoulder with a feral grin. The sabre looked over at Manny pointedly, "Hear that? This is my kind of place." The mammoth raised an eyebrow, snorting, "Yeah, if somehow Akira's miraculously dead then, yeah, it's the perfect place for you."

Diego glanced at Manny, startled. "Wha-" "Hello?" The weasel was holding a rock to his ear, stopped a little ways ahead of them. "Yeah... No, look, I can't talk right now. Yeah. No, I'm trying to recover a dead sloth and some snow. Yeah." The weasel lodged his kife in the trunk of a tree, turning away from them and whispering though they could still hear him. He hadn't ventured far. "No, they're following me! I know! They think I'm crazy. No..." He glanced back at them and in seeing the bewilderment and mild concern, he turned back around, holding the rock closer, "Okay, we're going into the Chasm of Death. I'm... I'm going to lose you. Yeah, I love you, too. All right, good-bye. Good-bye! Good-bye."

Buck tossed the rock aside and whirled around the face the mammals, "Okay! Follow me." He grinned, swiping his knife from the trunk and continuing on. "That's you in three weeks," Manny said to Diego, following at his own pace after the weasel. Diego was too distracted by the mammoth's previous comment about Akira to really acknowledge the more recent jab at him and his quest for solitude. The thought of the sabress lying still, heart no longer beating, eyes no longer shining made him feel nauseous and with much difficulty, he rid his mind of the thoughts, running to catch up with the group. They followed Buck into a winding cave and eventually out onto a rock ledge in a ravine, the bottom obscured by a dense virescent vapour.

"So, why do they call it the Chasm of Death?" Crash questioned as he and Eddie peaked over the edge. They were oddly cautious, a distant memory of the last time they were at a dangerous height with no guarantee of surviving the fall. There was no Akira to save them this time and they weren't willing to risk it again even if the sabress was here. "Well, we tried 'Big Smelly Crack', but that just made everybody giggle." The words hung in the air as Manny and Diego glanced at each other. "Well, now what?" The mammoth questioned. Buck hopped onto a dangling vine, swinging his knife above his head. An obscenely large rib cage fell down, supported by the thick intertwined vines running across the chasm.

The destination was veiled by the thick green fumes but Buck reassured there was one. "Madame," Ellie stepped forward, willing but was intercepted by Manny. "She is not doing that!" Buck grinned, hopping onto Manny's tusk with a pointed gaze, "Rule number one." Crash raised his hand, jumping in place in an effort to be picked. Buck shook a finger at him before turning to Manny, "Come on, mammoth! You're supposed to have a good memory." Ellie looked at the rib cage, a little uneasy until she remembered who they travelled this far for. "Always listen to Buck." She stepped onto the array of bones, steeling herself for the ride. Buck grinned, hopping onto the spinal cord. "Now, eyes forward, back straight, and... Oh, yes, breathe in the toxic fumes and you'll probably die."

Ellie nodded before the last words registered. "Toxic fumes?!" Her exclamation went unanswered, "Just another day in paradise." Manny called out but Buck had already cut the vine holding them in place. She had seconds to draw a deep breath as they fell forward at an alarming speed into the viscous haze. "Ellie, you okay?" Manny called down as gradually, the rib cage climbed the decent, swaying gently. "You have to try this!" The shemmoth called back, reassuring them of her state. "All right, now pile on, everyone!" Buck called up and the remaining mammals complied, glancing uneasily at each other. "Couldn't be easier! Don't panic! Just some technical difficulties. Keep holding it in, boys!"

Crash and Eddie breathed as the words left his mouth, making a dramatic scene of dying before it dawned on them they were still alive."We're not dead!" Crash sat up from where he was draped over a rib, grinning at his brother's high-pitched voice. "You sound ridiculous!" Crash's voice was no different. "Me? You should hear you!" They giggled, each supporting the other in their laughing fit. "All right, all right. And a one, and a two...," They spun to face Manny and Diego, grinning manically, "Christmas, Christmas time is here." They burst into a fit of giggles. "Stop! Are you crazy?" Manny managed through barely parted lips, refraining from breathing. Diego watched the possums, breathing out slowly before inhaling. He didn't feel any pain. "It's not poison."

Diego's voice had risen several octaves. It was silent before the four before the three that had breathed the virescent vapour began laughing, pointing at each other. "That is so disturbing!" Eddie giggled. "Stop laughing! All of you!" Buck yelled from where he struggled with the rope wound around a stump. The four, especially the mammoth, were quite heavy to pull for his small size and he was struggling a bit. "Stop laughing, all of you!" Crash mocked. At this point, Manny had given in and breathed, joining the chorus of high-pitched voices and wild laughter. "What's rule number one?" Manny mocked with a grin, poking his head out of the rib cage before pulling back in, snickering with the sabre and possums.

"They're just laughing. What's so bad about that?" Buck pointed down, Ellie following his paw with a gasp, "They died laughing!" Skeletons lightly veiled by the fumes. Their mouths were open, cold grins on their bony faces; even in death, they were forever laughing. "Stop laughing!" She exclaimed, voice pleading. "You know what's funny, though? We're trying to save Sid an-and Akira, and now we're all gonna die!" Manny said before breaking down into insane laughter. "And I don't even like Sid!" Eddie giggled, Crash grinning manically at his brother, "Who does? He's an idiot!" "Thanks for getting me into this mess. It's the most fun I've had in years!" Diego fell into a fit of giggles.

"Thank you for deserting the herd! That was totally super!" Manny snickered, trying to catch his breath to speak again. "And, and you know what's really funny?" He paused for dramatic effect, tears of mirth in his eyes. "Diego's in love with Akira!" There was a long paused before the mad laughter began again, Diego laughing the hardest as he nodded, hazel green eyes glistening with unshed tears. Buck heaved a heavy sigh, scrambling along the vines to the rib cage. The spinal cord had gotten stuck and pulling would get them nowhere and had to be mandatorily dislodged. "Stop that!" The weasel hissed through his teeth as a trunk tickled his stomach. "Don't you see? We're all gonna die!" His voice developed a high-pitched squeak as he continued talking.

He realized his mistake too late. The weasel joined the giggling bunch. Ellie sighed from the safe side, glancing down at her bulging stomach. "We gotta do everything, huh? Just wait until we tell Akira about this." She tugged on a tree trunk until the plant gave way and fell onto the rope with enough force to jostle the rib cage and send the laughing mammals careening down. "Sometimes I wet my bed!" "That's all right! Sometimes I wet your bed!" The array of bones finally arrived, slamming against the rock ledge and sending the mammals inside onto the solid ground. Slowly, their laughter subsided until they were gasping desperately for air. Manny stood slowly, recovering quickly, "I'm not sure how much of that you could hear."

Ellie gave him an unimpressed look, "I heard all of it." The mammoth looked rightfully embarrassed, "Right. Yeah." "You wet my bed?" Crash questioned, glancing at his brother. "That was gas talk, dude." Diego was quiet as he recapped what had been said in the haze. "Well, better get moving," Manny said awkwardly, clearing his throat as he glanced at the sabre guiltily. "Aren't we forgetting something?" Ellie asked. Buck was missing from their five-mammal show. "Here, Rudy, Rudy, Rudy! I'm so lonely."

Akira couldn't help but gnaw on the rock table as the hatchlings did. She was as hungry as they are and they entrusted Sid to get food for them. Momma had wandered off somewhere and the four hope where Sid failed, Momma succeeded. "Okay. Here you go, guys." The four perked up only rear back in disgust at the assault on their noses. Vegetables. Akira gagged as the babies glared at the food in disgust. "What? You're not gonna eat your vegetables? Akira set a better example," He said to her, "How are you gonna become big, strong dinosaurs?" The sabress groaned, making the flat table into a slope, the hatchlings joining her. The vegetables tumbled off the table and onto Sid. "Sid, we eat meat, nothing green."

There was a flash of colours and with a thud, there was a vibrant red bird on the table. Akira's mouth watered at the sight but it was thin and just enough for the babies. Stepping back and sitting on her haunches, shifting uncomfortably as her stomach growled, she was startled by the slab of meat that was deposited in front of her. She grinned toothily, glancing up at Momma gratefully before digging in. She was careful not be messy, mindful of Sid a few feet over arguing with Momma on the hatchlings being vegetarians. "It's a healthier lifestyle. I mean, look at me. I have the pelt of a much younger sloth." Akira snickered to herself, enjoying her form of entertainment as she ate.

She giggled as Momma turned the table with her tail to bring the bird back to her hatchlings and Sid was turned away from them. "Excuse me! I'm trying to have a conversation here." The sloth exclaimed, affronted. Fed up with the sloth, Momma picked him up by the broccoli in his hand and tossed Sid into a shallow pond, his broccoli accompanying him. Akira had already guzzled down half her meal and just as the hatchlings are about to dig into theirs, Sid bounded back-as he always did. "No, no, no." The sabress watched, mildly interested as Sid rushed forward, waving away the hungry mouths from the dead bird. "That's not for us, kids. It's way too feathery and fleshy and..." The bird raised its head abruptly with an indignant squawk. Akira was mildly surprised to see it was still alive. "And alive!"

The still living bird latched itself onto to a startled Sid. "We do not eat live animals, period! Now, go! Fly! Be free, little...flightless bird." Akira sighed softly, nudging her meal over to the hatchlings. Sid sent her a disapproving look. The babies settled down beside her, gobbling down the half slab of meat hungrily as Momma dipped her head behind an array of trees and bushes. "Hey, where are you going? This is how you resolve conflict? No wonder you're single!" Akira snorted at the female glared at the sloth, a colossal leg held in her mouth. As the hatchlings gobbled down the remaining slabs, they pounced on the leg, dragging it over to her before digging in.

Akira took a few bites but nothing more than that, beginning the process of grooming her bloody fur. "Come on. Am I talking to myself here? I say, "They're vegetarian." You say, "Grrr." I say, "Can we talk about talk this?" You say, "Grrr." I don't call that communication." Sid complained, Momma responded with her signature growl. "See? That's your answer to everything." There was a distant roar no more than a mile away; it sent a shiver down her spine seeing Momma glance in the direction of the emitted roar before ushering her babies along. "What are you afraid of? You're the biggest thing on Earth! Aren't you?"

Akira glanced over her shoulder seeing the trees shuffled as something large moved through. "I don't think so, Sid." She took the sloth into her mouth by his neck, startling him, and tossed him high in the air where he grasped onto Momma's tail, Akira on the female reptile's heels.


	11. Chapter 10

The herd watched with mixed emotions as Buck had a four-way conversation with himself before getting into a wrestling match with his own foot. "Shouldn't we get moving?" Manny questioned and the skull sitting on Buck's foot turned to look at him as did the weasel attached to the foot. "What? And give Rudy a midnight snack? Not likely!" Buck nodded, "The skull's right. Take a load off, mammals. We'll camp here. Now, who's hungry?" The skull perked up, "I am!" The weasel glared at his foot, "You don't need the calories!" The mammals settled down, Diego wandering off to hunt something to satisfy his hunger and take his mind of Akira's possible demise-one from which she may not recover from this time-and the herbivores and omnivores fed on berries.

Buck had gotten a fire going where the possums took the liberty to roast their berries as the weasel delved into the story of how he had lost an eye to Rudy. Diego sat down, a little distanced but not enough to be noticeable, as Buck began. "There I was, my back against the wall, no way out, perched on the razor's edge of oblivion, staring into the eye of the Great White Beast." The possums were the most eager to hear the story, the sabre welcoming the distraction. "Were you killed?" Crash questioned, torso inclined forward. "Sadly, yes. But I lived! Never had I felt so alive than when I was so close to death. Just before Rudy could suck me down his gullet, I grabbed hold of that gross, pink, fleshy thing that dangles at the back of the throat.

"I hung onto that sucker, and I swung back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth, and back," He paused and the mammals leaned forward in anticipation, even manny. "And forth, and back and forth, and back and forth, until finally, I let go and I shot right out of his mouth! I may have lost an eye that day, but I got this!" Buck modelled his knife as it dawned on them at the same time. His weapon was Rudy's tooth, a memoir from the day he had escaped though not unscarred. "It's like the old saying, 'an eye for a tooth, a nose for a chin, a butt for a...' well, it's an old saying, but it's not a very good one." Night had fallen and the mammals began retiring for an eventful day tomorrow.

Much to his delight, however, Buck had found friends in the possums and sabre. The possums had been determined to stay up with him and keep watch but they were asleep in minutes. The mammoths were huddled underneath a tree, cuddled into one another and the sabre...the sabre was perched under a tree a little farther away, eyes skyward to the silver moonlight that peeked through the ice. He sheathed his knife, setting his little wooden carving of Rudy down by his post and scurried up the tree, leaning down from the branch directly above the sabre. "How important were your floppy green thing and your snow?" Diego glanced up at him, " _Are._ They're not dead. Sid's not easy to get rid of-trust me I've tried-and...Akira's still got seven lives left."

Buck tilted his head in question. "This Akira, she's a cat?" Diego nodded, eyes glancing at him briefly. "A sabre." Buck shifted, uncomfortable. Mammals from up top that stumbled into his world didn't survive very long. Almost reluctantly, he voiced this to Diego. The sabre looked up at him, looking the most determined Buck had seen him since he'd met him. "She's a fighter. Dinosaur or no, she wouldn't go down without a fight. And Sid means a lot to her-almost like her kid. He was the first one of us she met three years ago. She'll protect him with her life and I haven't seen much of this place...but it'll be enough." Buck smiled, "Then if she's a fighter like you say, you've got nothing to worry about, mate. She'll protect herself and Sid as best as she can." Diego nodded absently.

"And when we find her, tell her how you feel mate, life is short, no matter how many lives you got." Buck threw a sly wink at the surprised sabre before returning to his post, a smile on his face.

Akira was scouting ahead as darkness fell and nearly howled in relief and triumph as she found a large cave carved into a tall, protruding mound. She scrambled up it and migrated to the back, collapsing in exhaustion. She heard soft croons before the babies settled around her, snuggling up. She laughed quietly, curling around them with her head resting on her paws. As Momma climbed into the cave, she saw Sid wasn't with her and sighed, shaking her head softly. Of course, like Sid had managed to wiggle his way into her heart, he had obviously done the same with the larger predator.

The sloth certainly had a knack for doing things other deemed impossible and he was exceptionally proud of it-like he should be. Just as she'd guessed, Sid had settled down outside the cave but seconds later he joined her and the hatchlings. She smiled softly feeling a paw on her head as she drifted to sleep. Under any other circumstances, she would've stayed wide awake and suffer the consequences of no sleep but she trusted the larger predator and it was obvious Momma cared as her tail encircled them and gently pulled them closer to her.

It was high noon when the mammal herd stumbled across a small clearing littered with half-eaten vegetables and animal bones. "Everybody, stop! I smell something." The weasel speared a tuft of fur, bringing it to his nose as he sniffed it cautiously, "It smells like a buzzard's butt fell off and then got sprayed on by a bunch of skunks." The odd herd exchanged glances, their hopes raised. If Sid was alive then undoubtedly so was Akira. "That's Sid." "Mammals, we have ourselves a crime scene. A tuft of fur. Half-eaten carcass! Hunk of... No! Broccoli." Buck pointed down to the soggy vegetable before turning to the expectant and anxious herd.

"Here's what I think happened. Dinosaur attacks Sid, Sid fights back with piece of broccoli, leaving dinosaur a vegetable." Diego snorted, shaking his head, "Are you nuts? Sid's not violent. Or coordinated." Manny nodded, "Yeah. And where's the dinosaur?" Buck sighed, "All right. All right, good point. Theory two. Sid's eating broccoli, dinosaur eats Sid, dinosaur steps on broccoli, leaving broccoli a vegetable." Manny glanced down at Diego before looking back to the weasel. "Buck, when exactly did you lose your mind?" "Three months ago. I woke up one morning married to a pineapple. An ugly pineapple. But I loved her."

Ellie stepped forward, frowning. "What about Akira?" Buck frowned and Diego glanced away, looking around the clearing. He felt everyone's gaze flicker to him, even if briefly. "She was here," Diego said as he wandered over to a rather prickly bush. On it, was a silver tuft of fur. He couldn't deny the massive wave of hope that encompassed him. Upon nudging the bush, it gave way to a sight that sent his insides plummeting. "Buck, I think you missed a little clue over here." The weasel scurried over, stopping short with a grimace, "Well, your friends might be alive, but not for long. Rudy's closing in."

An expanse of rocky plates that looked like the moment you stepped on them, they would crumble. "The Plates of Woe. Or whatever's left of them. Single file, everyone! Head for Lava Falls." The herd moved along, Buck leading as Ellie carried the rear. "What's that sound?" Crash questioned. A gust of wind blew, tiny whispers sounding as it travelled through the cracks small crevices in the rocks. "It's the wind. It's speaking to us." Manny suddenly stopped, glancing over his shoulder at his wife. "Ellie, you okay?" The female mammoth winced, nodding for what she hoped was reassuring. Another contraction struck. Boy, did her baby have the worse timing.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'm just taking my..." Her rock plate trembled before jerking to the left, toward the gap filled with jagged and broken rocks. "Ellie!" Manny exclaimed, rushing forward only to be stopped abruptly as his plate lurched, breaking away from Ellie. "Manny!" She was panting, trying to dull the pain of contractions as her rock shook violently. "Get to the ledge!" She complied to the demand, jumping to the ledge just as her plate fell into the gap. The other plates collapsed, taking her herd and Buck with them much to her horror. "Ellie!" She heard a chorus of voices call out and she sighed in relief, assuring them she was okay. "Hang on, Ellie! We'll be right there!" She sighed in relief but was struck with worry as another contraction hit.

Sid was riding contently on Momma's tail, the hatchlings and Akira up front. He glanced behind him briefly and turned his head back only to have a face full of stone. He was peeled of Momma's tail and fell to the ground. The reptiles didn't notice, nor did the snowy mammal. "Wait! Sloth down! Wait. Wait. Timeout! Hold up. You guys are getting fast!" The sloth huffed, already exhausted from trying to run and catch up. He slowed, glancing uneasily at the scenery around him. "It's not so bad down here. Nice weather, friendly neighbours." No sooner had the words left his mouth had two massive clawed, dusty gray feet landed on either side of him. The sloth looked up, trembling in pure terror. "Hi, neighbour."

Akira was walking along with Momma and her babies when she noticed the absence of Sid just as Momma did. The five had stopped, the two adult predators exchanging glances as they looked back at the forest where the roar of a dinosaur no doubt bigger than Momma sounded. Sid's scream followed. "I got him." She turned to bound off to where she knew Sid was when a tail wrapped around her torso, halting her in place. She glanced over her shoulder at the larger predator and smiled softly at the mother dinosaur. "Stay safe." The look she received conveyed the same message before the tail uncurled from her middle. The babies called out to her and she gave them a parting smile before bolting off into the forest.

She followed Sid's frantic pleas and burst through the bushes, Sid running straight into her. The dinosaur before them was massive, definitely bigger than Momma with rough dusty gray skin and piercing crimson eyes. "Sid, I want you to run and find Momma, okay?" The sloth whimpered, nodding. "But what about you?" She didn't answer him, turning to Rudy and giving a thundering roar that echoed. "Sid, run!" She hissed and the sloth complied as the dinosaur growled. She lunged, digging her claws into rough scales. She jumped back to the floor, looking at the shredded skin on the dinosaur's leg. He snarled, snapping his jaws. She narrowly dodged the attack. Turning, she bolted through the thick vegetation with Rudy hot on her tail, roaring angrily behind her.

Buck and the unusual herd were trying to find their way up to Ellie when there was a loud echoing roar. The weasel turned to the direction it emitted from, grinning, "Rudy." The possums gulped in fear before another scream sounded. Buck was sent into a bout of confusion, turning to the herd with uncertainty. "Never heard that kind of dino before." Diego grinned, "That's Sid!" Buck nodded, eyes widening slightly as another thunderous roar sounded. It wasn't as loud as Rudy's but the intensity and threat were definitely matched. "What the-" "Akira!" The possums exclaimed, Manny and Diego exchanging grins. "We'll have to move fast," Buck said and they began continuing their way up the rocky slope. "Manny! Pineapples!" The herd was thrown by Ellie's yell.

"Pineapples?" "She gets cravings," Manny explained, a little panicked. "Pomegranates? Grapefruits! Nectarines?" Ellie shouted and the herd glanced at each other. "She's ordering a fruit cocktail." "Peaches!" Manny was the most confused one of them all before it dawned. "Peaches! The baby! What, now?" The mammoth was sent into a panic, worrying and thinking the worse. "This? Not good." Diego muttered. "The baby's coming! Did you guys hear that? 'Cause sometimes I imagine it in my head, but..." The mammoth trailed off as Eddie shouted, "Can you try to hold it in?" "Can somebody slap him for me?" Ellie's voice questioned, floating toward them. Crash fulfilled her request eagerly. "Done and done." Buck nodded to himself, muttering. "Uh, anything you want to share with us, Buck?" The weasel glanced up, nodding.

"There's only one thing to do. Possums, you're with me. Manny, Diego, you take care of Ellie until we get back." "What? No, you can't leave now!" Manny exclaimed "She's off the trail! What about rule number two?" Buck glared, "Rule number five says you can ignore rule number two if there's a female involved, or possibly a cute dog. You know I just make up these rules as I go along." The mammoth sputtered. "Manny, it's all right. I got your back." Diego said, nodding reassuringly at his best friend. The mammoth smiled in thanks. "Now you're talking! Come on, lads." Buck scurried off, the possums lingering back to give Manny their brotherly threats, "Take care of our sister, mister." "No pressure."

Akira dodged trees and dinosaurs as they scurried out of the way hearing the larger predator behind her. She glanced behind her, growling in frustration at seeing Rudy getting even closer. She came to a ledge and skidded to a stop. It was a waterfall and pure lava, the liquid hot and boiling. She turned but instead of seeing Rudy, she saw several smaller dinosaurs. They were carnivores with needle-sharp teeth and sharpened claws. She was bigger than them but largely out-numbered. Making a decision and hoping she had better stamina than the small dinos, she leaped over them and tore through the forest as fast as she could. Claws scraping against the ground and vegetation being pushed aside followed close behind her.

At one point she felt hot breath brush her leg before she found a burst of speed and escaped the snap of jaws. She was so focused she missed the cry of a mammal, completely oblivious to his presence until there was a small weight in her back. She risked a glance over her shoulder and saw a flash of brown. "Hello, love. So, see, your herd's just a little off to the left in the Plates of Woe but before we go find them, we got some company so if you could keep running for a while longer while I work on them that would be great." She heard the accented voice of the weasel and frowned. Her herd was here and so close but she couldn't run to them like she wanted-not until she got rid of the ever so eager dinos.

"Damn raptors." The weasel hissed above her. Up ahead, she could see a group of plated herbivores. "Hold on." She roared, startling the herd. The ground trembled as the herbivores broke into run, sabre and weasel among them. Some of the raptors were lost in the stampede but there were still four on their trail. Knowing she could take these, easily with the help of the weasel if he was a fighter, she came to a gradual stop, turning to face the Raptors, teeth bared. The weasel hopped off her back, standing beside her as he looked up at her with a crooked grin. "Definitely a fighter." She furrowed her eyebrows in bewilderment. Her attention was quickly grabbed by a raptor that lunged. She batted it from the air with a swift swipe from her paw.

Akira lowered herself into a threatening stance as did the opposing reptiles. "Charge!" She snorted, caught off-guard by the war cry of the weasel but lunged all the same. The Raptors were easy to put down though a few came back numerous times before they were completely taken care of. Sitting back, she looked down at the weasel who had fought alongside her with a tilt of her head. "Who are you?" He grinned wildly at her. "Buck. Long for Buckminster, short for Buh. You're Akira?" She nodded, "One and only." Buck nodded, scrambling up onto her back. "We've got your herd intact. Your floppy green thing is safe too." Akira laughed, happy beyond anything to see her herd again. She broke off into a sprint, Buck crying out in excitement at the speed.

Manny and Diego sighed in relief as the Troodons stopped coming. They had gotten up to Ellie and just in time to see her cradling a bundle on bronze fur with white nubs for tusks. To join the precious moment next was Crash, Eddie and Sid. All they were missing were Buck and Akira. Sid cooed at Peaches, their newest addition to the family, and everyone was distracted and didn't notice the last remaining Troodon sneaking up, eyes on Peaches. Not until Ellie gasped, holding her baby to her. Manny and Diego whirled around, both taking a defensive stance only to see a silver blur jump up from the depths of the sea of rocks, tackling the dinosaur and tossing it over into the gap. "That's everyone!" Buck exclaimed from where he sat on the sabress' back.

Manny grinned, "Welcome back, Tiger. Enjoy your little vacation?" Akira laughed, leaning down to nuzzle Crash and Eddie as they collided with her forelegs, latching onto them. "Once in a lifetime experience." She grunted, smiling softly at Ellie. "She's beautiful." She grinned as Peaches pointed her trunk at her. She nuzzled the calf who giggled cutely. "Yeah, well maybe you can have some of your own someday." Akira huffed, tilting her head questioningly as she looked at Ellie. "Emphasis on someday." The mammoth chuckled. "Planning to die old and alone?" Akira, shocked, turned to the voice with a wide toothy grin. "And what happened to your one-man crusade?" Slowly, she walked over to him, still smiling widely.

"Had to cut it short. It's not every day you see a dinosaur with a sabre and sloth dangling from her mouth." Akira snickered as she closed the distance between her and Diego, nuzzling him happily. "Glad you came back." She whispered in his ear, pulling back and sitting on her haunches with a soft smile. "Yeah, me too." He murmured, a little flustered-not that he'd ever admit it. "So I'm guessing you're leaving when we make it out?" Diego blinked at the question, a little surprised but understandable. Everyone was looking at him, waiting for an answer. He looked down at the sabress in front of him, coming to terms that with everything, even if he did want to leave, he'd never be able to leave her after all this.

"We're a herd, we stick together." He received several smiles at that but the brightest was from the sabre in front of him. Staying was suddenly all the more worth it. "So, _are_ we getting more kids? Can I babysit them? I promise they'll be safe! Remember when I babysat Percy? He was in one piece, wasn't he?" Akira blinked, realizing quickly that the sloth was looking at her with a grin. "Are we, Sid?" She questioned, looking down at the sloth who was now sitting beside her. Manny and Ellie were resting up while Peaches, Crash and Eddie listening to a tale being told by Buck. "I don't know, are you and Diego up for it?" Akira snorted, laughing softly as Diego's eyes widened, the sabre stumbling over his words.

"Wait, wh-what?! N-no. Tha-that's not gonna- _No_ , Sid." Sid snickered, scrambling away to join Peaches, Crash and Eddie. Akira hummed, turning to the flustered sabre who pointedly avoided her gaze. "Are you...up for it, Diego?" If one asked where this new found confidence came from, she'd tell them that after living in a world of supposedly extinct fossils for two days, nothing was really scary anymore. "Wait, you..." She tilted her head, raising her eyebrows as she smiled. "For a fierce predator, you're pretty oblivious." He smiled and she grinned at the twinkle in his eyes. "As you never fail to remind me." The sabress smirked up at him as she lowered herself onto the warm stone, "Someone has to."

Diego followed suit, smiling when Akira shifted closer, eyes falling shut for a brief rest. "Finally, a promise of sabre cubs in the future. About time. I mean, it wasn't as if you didn't already behave like mates, you know, with raising Perce and all that but jeez, you were both so blind. I mean, even _I_ saw it." Sid grinned as he shuffled past them. "That's saying a lot," Manny added. Akira snorted, Diego extending his paw and tripping the sloth. Sid's coordination was bad as it came and he barely managed to avoid the outstretched paw, falling forward with a huff.

The sabress, eyes still shut, helped the sloth back onto his feet. "See, Kira's a natural," The sloth sighed, eyes wide with excited anticipation, "I can't wait for this family to grow some more." Akira smiled feeling Diego's head lower to rest atop hers. She curled closer to him.


	12. Chapter 11

Akira was both relieved to see arrive at the winding cave of ice and stone where the two worlds met. She'd definitely miss this place despite its imminent dangers. "This is it, mammals. Right where you started." Buck said as they came to a stop by the entrance. "This was fun! We could make it a regular thing." Akira laughed, cocking her head at the weasel, "Count me in." The weasel grinned crookedly at her as Sid perked up, "If Akira's coming back down, can I?" The sabress snickered, shrugging, "On one condition. You wear a leash." The sloth grinned, claws on his hips, "Sounds do-able to me. I'll get to see my kids weekly after all." The sabress smiled softly, "Of course, Sid." She looked to Buck, "Thank you for everything."

The weasel's grin softened and he shrugged. "We couldn't have done it without you," Ellie added, Peaches tucked underneath her with wide green eyes watching everything with child-like wonder. "Well, obviously. But good times, just the..." A hot gust of air suddenly blew over them, emitting from the cave. Akira heard a low, rumbling growl. "We're not alone, are we?" There was no verbal answer needed for the rhetorical question. Akira took action immediately, ushering the possums and Sid back and closer to Ellie and Peaches. Red eyes glimmered in the dark of the cave. "Hello, Rudy."

A long white mouth emerged before it was joined by hands tipped with lethal black claws and a long slender body of rough scales and a dusty gray tail. The only true threat to Momma and her babies. Buck provided a distraction as Ellie and Peaches ran over to the cave, hiding within the safety of it. Akira scurried up a tree and gathered some vines in her jaws, jumping down to the forest floor. As Buck occupied Rudy, the mammals got to work. Diego stole one end of the vines, circling Rudy's legs while she sprinted ahead, pulling tight on the rope and forcing the two large feet together, taking Rudy off balance. Crash and Eddie had wrapped his mouth shut and pulling, the dinosaur was brought down.

Akira glanced around, making sure they were all going to make it to the cave when she caught sight of Sid. He was on the other side of Rudy where the majority of tied vines were and just like she had predicted, Sid tripped, his claws catching one of the vines and snapping it. Rudy's eyes opened before the white giant reared up, ripping the vines around his legs and hands. Akira groaned, sprinting for the sloth as Rudy glared down at the herbivore. She snatched him up, narrowly missing Rudy's jaws as a brown blur came barreling from the trees. Startled, the two mammals turned and both grinned widely in seeing Momma. "Way to go, Momzilla!"

The female rammed Rudy repeatedly until the white giant was thrown over the cliff. Akira and Sid scurried to stand beside Momma, grinning as the babies joined them. As the reptile broke into a thunderous roar, her babies joined. Sid and Akira glanced at each other, shrugging as they too joined. Sid would need to work on his dino roar for future purposes. "Come here, kids," Sid sniffled, ushering the hatchlings over. Akira smiled as they hurried over, looking at the sloth with wide eyes. "Well, let me tell you something. You're where you belong now. And I'm sure you're going to grow up to be giant, horrifying dinosaurs just like your mother."

The sloth smiled up at Momma who gave him a fond look. Akira grinned at her. "Told you so." She avoided the tail whipped playfully in her direction with a laugh. "And Momma, take good care of our kids." Sid grinned tearily up at the dinosaur who nodded. Momma lowered her head, Akira pressing hers against her nose as Sid placed a gentle claw with a watery smile. The babies ran up to the sabress as their mother pulled back and nuzzled her, crying softly. "I'll miss you guys too." She nuzzled each and every one of them, brushing away stray tears. "Behave for your mother." The triplets gave her identical grins of mischief and they scurried over to their mother.

"You were a good parent, Sid," Manny said as they rejoined the herd. Akira noticed Buck looking at her with furrowed brows and frowned, "What?" The weasel shrugged, "See, I was told you were a fighter but I'm starting to wonder if you're a lover instead. I mean, receiving affection from one of the fiercest creatures I know other than Rudy. That's nearly impossible." Akira smirked, "Keyword, _nearly._ " Buck grinned as well, "I like you." She walked to the herd, nudging Sid to hurry up and gesturing for Buck to follow. Sid ran clumsily to Manny and Ellie, Peaches huddled by their legs. "Can I babysit for you, Manny?" Akira snorted, sitting back on her haunches as she turned to face Buck.

The weasel was peering over the edge of the cliff, a frown on his lips. "He's gone. What am I supposed to do now?" Akira tilted her head and the herd turned their attention to the weasel. "That's easy," Diego huffed. "Come with us." Sid finished with a grin. Buck glanced up at the thick and slightly transparent ice. "You mean up there?" He hesitated, expression thoughtful. "I never thought of going back. I've been down there so long, it feels like up to me. I'm not sure I can fit in up there anymore." Diego scoffed, "So? Look at us. Do we look like a normal herd to you?" Akira grinned as everyone tried for a wide smile, giggling when even Peaches joined in. "Come on, Buck, we'd love to have you along. We could even find some adventures of our own up top."

"So long, big guy." The weasel cast one more backwards glance before he ran over to them. As a roar echoed through the underground world, Manny grimaced. "That's our cue. Come on, Peaches!" Manny swooped up his new baby girl and the herd was off, the coupled sabres and weasel carrying the rear. Akira padded through the cave, sighing softly as Sid began to fall back, heaving exaggerated tired breaths. "Hey, Akira, I'm all tuckered out. You wouldn't mind-" "Get on, Sid." The sloth grinned and didn't hesitate to clamber onto her back and get comfortable. "Thanks, A."

Akira trudged along, Diego by her side when the faintest of roars had her ears twitching. Having heard it so many times in her short time in the tropical world, she could recognize it easily. She halted in her tracks, Diego and Sid glancing at her questioningly. Her eyes were on Buck as the weasel looked back excitedly, turning to face them. He looked hesitant. "He's alive! I. . . I got to. . ." Akira gave a knowing smile, "Yeah." He grinned. "Besides, this world should really stay down here. Take care of them, love." Diego was quick to realize what happening, deducing that Rudy was still alive and Buck felt he had a purpose in the world once again. "'Always listen to Buck'."

The weasel gave them a parting smile and they continued on their way, Sid waving sadly to Buck. As they got across the spine of a rather precariously placed dinosaur, the bones trembled before it began to collapse, falling into the abyss with a rising cloud of dust in its wake and deafening thud upon its impact. As the herd gathered at the mouth of the cave, Manny did a head count. "Is everybody okay?" The possums search for their newly-acquired friend. "Where's Buck?" Akira gave them reassuring looks, "Don't worry. He's where he wants to be?"

Ellie frowned, glancing back at the way they could no longer go. "Is he gonna be okay?" Diego huffed, "Are you kidding? Nothing could kill that weasel. It's Rudy I'm worried about." The Northern Sabress snickered at Diego's words, having to agree with them. Rudy was in for a rather rude awakening when Buck caught up to him.

Akira could sense that Manny remained back, never one for the rear of the herd, that he wanted to talk with Diego. She trotted ahead, mindful of Sid on her back.

Diego started again, Manny matching his slower pace. "Listen, I know this "baby makes three" thing isn't for you, but whatever you decide to do. . ."

Ellie had breached the exit of the cave and a fresh layer of snow coated the ground. Peaches marvelled at it all, both females watching fondly as she pranced around in the snow, giggling in awe at it all. Sid slid off Akira's back to join the calf.

Diego and Manny exited the cave as well. "You know I'm not leaving, buddy. Life of adventure? It's right here." Manny sputtered, "But I got a whole speech here. I've been working on it. How can I show you that I'm strong and sensitive? Noble yet caring?" Diego grinned, shaking his head at his best friend. "Just stop right there before you make a fool of yourself, Manny." The mammoth gave him a grateful look, looking relieved he didn't have to continue. "I've got everything here I could ever need, Manny. I just didn't realize it." His multi-coloured eyes were on Akira as he spoke, lips tugged up into a smile.

Sid was suddenly by his side, out of breath as Manny walked ahead to join his wife and kid. "They grow so fast, huh?" The sloth dramatically wiped a tear from his eye, sniffling. Diego rolled his eyes, knowing Sid's over-the-top dramatics. "Yeah." "I mean, look at my kids. Seems like they were born one day and then gone the next." The tiger spared the sloth a glance, "They were, Sid." "Yeah. That was a lot of work."

Akira lay on her stomach, catching Peaches delicately with her paw when the calf stumbled. She froze, big green eyes fixed on the sky as snowflakes floated gently down.

"That's right, sweetheart. Welcome to the Ice Age."


End file.
